A History of the Parish Church of Beeston - by G W Deverill

This account was first published in booklet form in October 1927 to mark the Beeston church's Sixth Centenary Celebrations. It had been written by Mr Deverell
following a suggestion by the then Vicar, Rev L. Norman Phillips, that such a history of the church would be appropriate. In the Foreward, the Vicar thanks the
author, going on to say "he has spent much time in probing into the past, and has taken infinite trouble to verify his statements, and we owe him a
very large debt of gratitude."The work has been transcribed essentially unchanged and modern readers should be aware that references to "now",
"today", etc relate to 1927 when it was originally written and that monetary values have been unaltered from old currency formats.

Preface by the Author - This history is purely that of the Parish Church, and matters connected therewith, and is not intended to be a history of Beeston, admitted
the two were synonymous in olden days, but the aim has been to omit matters extraneous to the subject. The booklet represents a fair portion of new information, the
rest is purely a compilation. I have merely taken upon myself the task of putting into a concise form that which the trader might cull from other sources, if he were so disposed,
time allowed, and the requisite books were available. Naturally I have had recourse to other people's writings, but I have, as far as I could, embodied in my account the
result of most recent research. "As far as I could" has to be said, for I have not always been able to lay my hands upon all the data desired. The task
has involved not a little perseverance. It is no egotism to say that only those engaged in similar pursuits can form a just idea of the time and research
requisite in collecting and digesting materials for a booklet of this description. Where facts have been borrowed from previous writers, great care has been used in verification
of such records. It is to be regretted, from an archaeological point of view, that it is not someone's peculiar function to record the events which chequered
English village life in olden times of this and similar parishes, It is only from extraneous sources, from oral tradition (not always the surest guide), from Post-Reformation
Registers, Terriers, and the works subsequently acknowledged, that these particulars have been compiled. Much use has been made of the books and Transactions of the
Thoroton Society. Doubtless to Beeston folk, particularly those connected with the Parish Church, this booklet will have a significance and interest of its own. We
can certainly boast of a hoary tradition and an ancient pedigree, even though posterity has left us such scant fragments of previous edifices in our present church.
However, something it will be, to have succeeded in preserving from oblivion some of the reminiscences of a very ancient if lowly, village, Due acknowledgement must be
made to the many friends who have made the result possible, and particularly to Pro. A Hamilton Thompson M.A, D.Litt, F.S.A, Professor of Medieval History, Leeds University,
for kindly offering to peruse and check the contents prior to publication, from whose pen I have borrowed the notes on "The origin of Monastic Life" - G. W. Deverill
- Beeston, October, 1927.

The Church - We have no authentic means of judging when a Church was first built in Beeston, but if we assume that the Angles came about A D. 600, they were, before
the year 700, converted to Christianity, and would probably build a Church, however rude and poor in materials and design. This Church, the forerunner of
anything in stone, would be built of reeds and wattles.

When the Danes came, and established their authority at Nottingham and Derby, the Church at Beeston would suffer a similar fate to the rest and be destroyed,
but would be rebuilt afterwards, for Beeston being situated between the waterway of the Trent, and the highway connecting the two towns, where the Danish
Government was established, would be affected by Danish law.

The fact that Doomsday Book does not mention a Church at Beeston, is not proof that one did not exist in the reign of William the Conqueror. Doubtless when
the Normans came, the existing building would be pulled down and a more stable and ornate structure would be erected which in turn would be superseded by a
more elegant building in the early 13th century.

We have no remains whatever of any portion of that Norman Church in our present building; in fact the only relic we have of the 13th century church which
followed, is the font, the top half of which is Early English of Henry III time. This was discovered when the Church was rebuilt in 1842, and was somewhere
under the altar, where it had been stored away for a long lapse of time. Another building subsequently followed possibly one hundred and twenty-five years
later, this 14th century Church being of the Decorated Period, of Edward III time. A relic of this we have in the image niche incorporated into the wall at
the north side of the east window, although the head-stone forming the trefoil is an inserted renovation of later date. Of this Church we also have the piscina
and sedilia. The latter originally had crockets and finials1 to outline the cinquefoil heads, similar to those in Barton Church: a close inspection will show where
these have been chipped away. Niche, piscina. and sedilia, are not necessarily in their original positions, although of course the piscina and sedilia would be on the
south side of the High Altar, wherever that was in the 14th century Church. The fact that these triple sedilia exist, gives rise to a conjecture that the church
at this time must have been of some importance, for there would be a priest, deacon, and sub-deacon officiating. Stones of this Church were doubtless incorporated in
the subsequent building and handed down to us in what is left of that Church, namely the walls of the present chancel. It is a much modernised chancel,2 but in the main
it represents all that posterity has left us of the last Church prior to the Dissolution, which was probably built in the reign of Henry VII or VIII, the period of later
Perpendicular, when the glories of medieval architecture were on the wane.

With the exception of the chancel, all was pulled down in 1842-43. The tower was then found dangerous, the north wall was very much out of the perpendicular, in fact
the whole building was in such a dilapidated condition, that the chancel was the only part it was found possible to retain. The chancel at this time was blocked up with
high pews, and the sedilia were turned into book closets for the use of the Sunday School, then held in the Church.

The old Church consisted of nave, chancel, and small tower nearly in the middle of the south side, having a clock3, a porch westward of the tower, and a short aisle
to the east of it. A colour drawing of this church now hangs in the vestry. (See above right; the church in 1844, after restoration is shown left).

There were no effigied tombs or monumental brasses in the old church, but only a few mural tablets, which were re-erected in the new edifice.

The present building is in the late Perpendicular style, and was adapted to the architecture of the chancel in 1843-4, from designs of Messrs. Scott and Moffatt,
Mr. Scott afterwards becoming Sir Gilbert Scott. We have therefore in our church one of the earliest efforts of restoration by the grandfather of the present architect of
the new Liverpool Cathedral.

The present church was consecrated by the Bishop of Lincoln on September 5th, 1844. The vicar at the time was the Rev. F. T. Wolley, and he raised by public subscription the
bulk of the money to pay for it.

His wife laid the first stone of the new church, but died before it was opened. The reredos and pulpit are later additions.

Choir and organ were originally in a gallery at the west end, entrance to which was from the outside of the church, north of the west door. The entrance and staircase remain,
but the doorway at the head of the staircase is now blocked up, though it may still be observed inside the church. The gallery was demolished during the vicariate of the Rev. T. J. Oldrini.

The doorway on the north side of the chancel led into the former pulpit of our present church, and must not be taken as having any connection with a rood-loft. This kind of staircase, let
into the thickness of the wall, and leading up to a rostrum or pulpit, is an uncommon feature of our churches nowadays. When Sir Gilbert Scott designed this, he possibly had
in mind the staircase generally found in the refectory of monastic remains, which led to the pulpit from which one of the monks read aloud whilst the others were taking their meal.,br>
Two curious old bibles4 of black letter type, which were found in the tower chamber, are now in a glass case in the porch. They have been retained owing to their errors in spelling, and
are of the early edition of the Authorised Version, 1611, issued by order of James I. One is of the first issue, with the errors characteristic of that edition; the other is of a subsequent
issue, with the errors of the first corrected, except two in Ezekiel, but in which a further mistake has crept, not in the first issue.

Another interesting relic from the previous church is the old Poor box, which is now found S.W. of the Font. It bears the inscription "1684 W.A, E.B, C.W," the
latter letters standing for churchwardens, and the others their initials.

The Communion Table in the north aisle, also a relic of the old church, is Elizabethan.

In 1797 we read that "over the communion table were a few remnants of ancient glass5". Whatever the east window contained in those days we have no trace to-day, for
not a relic remains of that glass.

A close study of the carved heads, where the hood-mouldings of the arches meet above the pillar capitals, will show that all save one are of the usual type associated with
the period of which the nave is a reproduction, viz., heads of Kings, Queens, Bishops, etc., but the one on the extreme west of the north side represents the head of a boy. It
would appear that the masons at the time were lodging with the parents of Mr. Robert Lowe, and to complete their work, left to posterity a likeness of one of the sons, whose head we now see.
So runs the story, but however interesting it may appear, its authenticity unfortunately cannot be vouched for, Mr. Robert Lowe being only a few months old when the church was
reconsecrated in 1844, his elder brother too would be barely two years of age at the time. However the head is unusual, and one is prepared to think that the masons, as a compliment
to their landlady, carved what they imagined one of the sons would be at the age of six or eight years.

So much for the church fabric. Of the history of our church we know nothing earlier than the reign of Henry II. About 1160 however, we have definite proof that a church .existed, for
the letters of Popes Alexander III and Lucius III., (referred to later), were contemporary with this period.

We also know that later in the same century, the representatives of the Bestonian church went annually at Whitsuntide to Southwell to join in solemn procession
according to the papal Bull of 1171, and took as Pentecostal offerings 1/8. At that period Stapleford took 1/5, and Wollaton 1/3, the amounts roughly representing their relative
rateable values.

Following this we have proof that in A.D.1200 a grant of land at Bramcote was made to Silvester, son of Robert, the chaplain at that time of "Bestonia."6

In 1230, the Prior and Convent of Lenton procured confirmation of a pension of 22/-, to be paid them annually out of the vicarage of Beeston.

Later on, in 1241, Richard de Beauchamp, Lord of Beston, gave land in this parish to Lenton Priory.

Following this, in 1267, the name of a vicar - John - occurs in an ordination list of that year, the said John being ordained by Archbishop Giffard of York.

From an early date the vicarage was appropriated by the Priory, and the church, for a time, appears to have become a chapel subject to the mother church at Lenton. (The priory
arms are still to be seen on the outside of the east end of the church, above the chancel roof, at the apex of the nave roof). At the time of this appropriation, the parishioners
and the poor vicar naturally objected, but letters were produced from Popes Alexander III. and Lucius III approving of the appropriation, which letters had doubtless
been obtained under influence.

Henceforth the Prior of Lenton became patron, and ecclesiastical lord paramount of the place. The vicar could have hoped for little chance of success, when engaged in
contending against such all-powerful influences. It was once more the story of might overcoming right.

The Rector of Arnold, John de Ia Launde, and William de Hundon, Rector of Barmburgh, Yorkshire, were appointed commissioners to try a dispute as to the repair
of the chancel by the parishioners, and the payment of 22/- yearly by the Vicar of Beeston to the Priory, the 22/- being a pension confirmed in 1230. We have no information
as to the result, but it would appear that the Priory claimed the vicarage and tried to evade its duty to repair the chancel, endeavouring at the same time to make the poor
vicar pay up his pension of 22/-, at a time when the income of the vicarage was eight marks (£5/6/8).

The monastery retained the advowson and appropriate tithes of Beeston down to the Dissolution, although during the major portion of the 14th century the advowson was retained
by the Crown, owing to the restrictions then placed upon alien monasteries, but towards the close of that century the Priory was permitted to resume its right.

The date of grant of the foregoing advowson is of peculiar interest to us, seeing that from such a date the history of our church may be said to commence. Anything prior, must
of necessity, be mere conjecture. Although we have no documentary evidence, (for reasons hereafter explained), we may safely assume 1160 as the approximate
date. This is proved by the fact that bulls of appropriation were granted by Alexander III and Lucius III.; for, even if such bulls were fabricated to suit a
special occasion, it does not follow that they recorded things which had not actually happened.

Furthermore, following the grant of this advowson, it is likely that, as a result, Lenton appropriated the church (which was the purpose and natural consequence
of early grants of advowson, in days before Statutes of Mortmain - 1279) and obtained papal confirmation to secure their right against possible infringement. Whether
a vicarage was endowed early, or whether the priory merely served the church by chaplains, seems uncertain: it is often very difficult to determine such points; and
the records of ordinations of vicarages and of institutions to them in the earlier York registers are very imperfect The fact also that Lenton, which was subject to Cluny, was
therefore exempt from the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of York throughout its earlier history, makes the truth of the matter more difficult to discover, as the business of
exempt monasteries, even where (as in the appropriation of a parish church) a diocesan might claim some say in the matter, was conducted without much reference to him, and
consequently does not often find its way into diocesan records.

Whatever arrangement may have been come to earlier, the regular appointment of vicars after 1327 shows that the vicarage was an independent benefice to
which the prior and convent were bound to present, and that if, up to that time, the church of Beeston had been a mere chapel dependent on Lenton and served
by hired chaplains, it was now given the legal status of a parish church with an endowment for the vicar. If the vicar had only £5/6/8 (a normal endowment for a
country vicarage), he was at any rate bound in law to receive it as the income of his freehold benefice, and not merely as a casual stipend which could be
stopped at any time.

The first vicar of whom we have any knowledge (referring of course to the first in our list of regular appointments), was Wm. deWillesthorpe, appointed
October 12th, 1327 (whose Sixth Centenary we are now celebrating), but his successor, William de Beston, alias William de Beckford, vicar 1339-1349, appears
to be the first notable person connected with our church, He moved from Beeston to become Rector of Cotgrave. After he left our parish, he founded August 1st, 1355, a
chantry in Beeston, dedicated to St. Catherine, where prayers were offered for the founder whilst he lived, for the repose of his soul at his decease, and for
the souls of his parents, brothers and sisters,7 or as the "Chantry Certificate Rolls"8 quote it: "The Chaunterie of saynt
kateryns in Biston, founded by oon William Biston for A preste to praye for his soule, his frendis soullis & all Crystian soullis." He endowed the
chantry by giving forty-five acres of land in Beeston, and thirty-four acres near Lenton. Part of this land has been identified as below the present lake on the
Highfields Estate, showing that after it was taken from the church at the Dissolution of Chantries, it passed from one hand to another and eventually became the
property of Sir Jesse Boot. Most probably the present University Boulevard is on land which at one time was a portion of this endowment.

Delving further into the past, however, it is interesting to know that a portion of this endowment represents land originally held as manors by three Saxons, Alfag,
Aiwine, and Ulchal, which was taken from them at the Conquest, and given to William Peverel, the illegitimate son of William the Conqueror, Lord of Nottingham Castle.
When the Peverel family fell into disgrace, the estate was forfeited to the King, who gave it to a branch of the Beauchamp (de Bello Campo) family, and this land
was obtained by William de Beston from Roger Beauchamp. This endowment was confirmed by the Archbishop of York, May 19th, 1356, and John de Beston, probably a
brother of the above William, was appointed as the first chaplain, subsequent chaplains were appointed by the Prior of Lenton.

The prayers for the souls of the faithful departed were probably continued for nearly two hundred years, until the chantry was suppressed and its endowment
confiscated by Edward VI 1548. Traces of this chantry were discovered in the south aisle of the old church by Sir Gilbert Scott before its demolition in
1842, but none of the remnants were preserved.

By a curious coincidence, through the generosity of Mr. F. H. Starling, a piece of land to the east of the top of Marlborough Road, which formerly was a
portion of this endowment, has come back to our church again; on this a church will eventually be built to supply the needs of the growing population to
the north side of the parish.